PERTH IS THE CAPITAL OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY IN AUSTRALIA. IT LIES CHIEFLY ON THE NORTH BANK OF
THE SWAN RIVER, ABOUT 19 KM (12 MILES) FROM THE PORT OF FREMANTLE AT THE RIVER MOUTH. THE METROPOLITAN AREA STRETCHES SOME 65 KM (40 MILES) NORTH TO SOUTH, AND 40 KM (25 MILES) EAST TO WEST.
PERTH HAS HOT SUMMERS WITH TEMPERATURES OF UP TO 30`C (86`F) AND MILD WINTERS WITH TEMPERATURES DOWN TO 17`C (62`F). IT HAS MANY PARKS AND GARDENS, THE FINEST BEING KING’S PARK, WHICH LOOKS OVER THE CITY FROM THE WEST AND HAS MANY BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIAN TREES AND WILD FLOWERS. THERE ARE ROWS OF ATTRACTIVE HOUSES ALONG THE BANKS OF THE BROAD RIVER AND BATHING AND SAILING ARE FAVOURITE SPORTS. THE CITY HAS MANY MODERN PUBLIC BUILDINGS, OFFICE BLOCKS, HOTELS, AND SHOPPING ARCADES. THE HAY STREET AND MURRAY STREET MALLS ARE THE BUSIEST SHOPPING AREAS IN THE CITY. THERE ARE FOUR UNIVERSITIES – THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, MURDOCH UNIVERSITY, CURTIN UNIVERSITY, AND THE EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY – AND SEVERAL TECHNICAL COLLEGES AND MANY SCHOOLS. THE MAIN INDUSTRIAL AREA IS SITUATED IN KWINANA, A TOWN ON THE COAST ABOUT 32 KM (20 MILES) AWAY.
PERTH AND FERMANTLE, WITH THE METROPOLITAN AREA SURROUNDING THEM, HAVE A COMBINED POPULATION OF ABOUT 1,200,000, ROUGHLY 75 PERCENT OF THE STATE’S POPULATION. THEY ARE IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL CENTRES. PERTH IS THE WESTERN TERMINAL OF THE TRANS-AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY. THE CITY’S AIRPORT PROVIDES DIRECT LINKS WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD, AND FREMANTLE IS THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN PORT OF CALL FOR SHIPS WHICH HAVE CROSSED THE INDIAN OCEAN.
THE AREA WAS FIRST SIGHTED BY THE DUTCH NAVIGATOR, WILLEM DE VLAMINGH, IN 1697. HE NAMED THE SWAN RIVER AFTER THE BLACK SWANS HE SAW THERE. IN 1827, A NAVAL OFFICER, CAPTAIN JAMES STIRLING, WAS GIVEN PERMISSION BY THE GOVERNOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES TO SEE WHETHER THE AREA OF THE SWAN RIVER WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR SETTLEMENT. HE THOUGHT IT WOULD AND PERSUADED THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT, WHICH WAS CONCERNED ABOUT FRENCH AND AMERICAN INTEREST IN AUSTRALIA’S WEST COAST. PERTH NAMED AFTER A SCOTTISH CITY, WAS FOUNDED IN 1829. IN THE 1850S CONVICTS WERE SENT THERE AND BUILT MANY OF THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS. PERTH WAS PROCLAIMED A CITY BY QUEEN VICTORIA IN 1856. IN THE 1890S THE GOLDRUSH HELPED ITS DEVELOPMENT, AS DID THE OPENING OF FREMANTLE AS A DEEP-SEA PORT IN 1901.